Thursday’s Mini-Report, 12.7.17

* The latest school shooting: “Two students were killed in a shooting at a high school in Aztec, New Mexico, according to authorities. New Mexico State Police confirmed to reporters that the two students died Thursday at Aztec High School.”

* Southern California: “Firefighters battling the blazes that have been tormenting Los Angeles and the surrounding area for four days got some help from Mother Nature when record high winds that had been expected to fuel the fires failed to materialize.”

* There probably won’t be a shutdown tomorrow: “The House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly passed a stop-gap spending measure to continue funding the federal government through December 22. The bill prevents a shut-down that would be triggered if Congress fails to pass a spending bill before a deadline of midnight Friday. The final tally was 235 yes votes, and 193 votes against.”

* FBI Director Christopher Wray “appeared to provide the first official confirmation Thursday that the FBI has applied for secret FISA warrants in the Russia investigation – the type of warrants that can allow the bureau to spy on the email and telephone calls of specific individuals.”

* Is this really an “open question,” as Haley said? “Nikki Haley, America’s ambassador to the United Nations, suggested that the United States’ participation in February’s Winter Olympics in South Korea remains up in the air, while the White House said Thursday that ‘no official decision has been made’ regarding the games.”

* Syria: “About 2,000 American troops are in Syria fighting the Islamic State, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday, almost four times the total previously disclosed as the Trump administration changes how troop numbers are publicly counted.”

* A sign of the times on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor: “The Hawaii Air National Guard has used its fighter jets and helicopters to perform the flyover for many years, but federal budget cuts prevented it from participating this year.”

* Why did Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) neighbor attack him while he was mowing his lawn? The answer continues to come into focus.